“Karnataka is a land where the seeds of social justice were sown by social reformer Basavanna in the twelfth century. That is the reason why the efforts of communal forces will not succeed after a point,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here on Thursday.
He was addressing a gathering at Patil Puttappa Sabhabhavan here on Thursday after inaugurating the renovated building of Karnataka Vidyavardhaka (KVV) Sangha which is celebrating 128th Foundation Day. He also unveiled the bust of Patil Puttappa, who has served the Sangha as president uninterruptedly for 50 years.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said those who had no knowledge and understanding of the history would not be able to construct the future. He stopped short of making a political speech saying that since it was a cultural platform concerning Kannada language and Kannadigas, he would not talk politics.
Recalling the role of Karnataka Vidyavardhaka Sangha in unification of Karnataka and particularly its president Mr. Puttappa, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Sangha and ‘Papu’ (as Puttappa is popularly known as) had always taken up the cause of Kannada and Kannadigas.
“The voice of agitation is always strong. Even at 98, Mr. Puttappa has a strong voice when it comes to Kannada land and language,” he said. “However when people like Papu speak in a straightforward manner often it is taken as arrogance,” he said.
The State Government would always be there to support the organisations and institutions that strive for the promotion of Kannada language and culture, Mr. Siddaramaiah assured.
Earlier, former minister Basavaraj Horatti, district-in-charge minister Vinay Kulkarni and Sri Siddeshwara Swami lauded the work of Mr. Puttappa. Making a brief speech, Mr. Puttappa urged the Chief Minister to construct a memorial for Queen Belavadi Mallamma who fought against Maratha ruler Shivaji and sought land for construction of Gandhi Bhavan in Dharwad. Seers Sri Mallikarjuna Swami, Sri Nijagunaprabhu Swami, Sri Basavanand Swami and a host of elected representatives were present.
